Enter Shikari at The Apollo

Enter Shikari – Hammersmith Apollo – 12 February 2010

Support: The King Blues, Rolo Tomassi

Words by Ryan Cooper / Photo’s by Daniel Gray

Its 6:45 and the occupants of the queue that snakes around the makeshift metal barriers outside the front of the Apollo don’t seem as happy as you would expect from a mass of people about to experience a night of superb British musical talent with a finale from a band voted best live band over the past few years. The reason for this lack of enthusiasm becomes clear when chants of ‘why are we waiting?’ become frequent. The venue website and the tickets for this event show that doors open at 6pm, but seeing as it is now approaching 7pm I can see why no-one is very pleased. Finally, over an hour after doors were meant to open, everyone cheers as thought they are already inside and Enter Shikari have just came onto the stage, but this roar just shows how relieved they are that they can finally get inside. The moment the security have checked their tickets, people shoot through the doors like racehorses out of their posts. It seems that there are 3 main places that people want to be at this very moment, and they head for these locations with such urgency that you would be led to believe that their lives depended upon it. Many of these people head straight for the merch stall to grab their t-shirts before the rest of the mob get a chance to strip the stall clear, while others rush towards the bar for a much needed drink after queuing in the frosty temperatures outside. The remainder of the people sprint towards the stage to secure their places at the front. As people are still pouring in through the main doors, the houselights dim and a small level of cheers erupt as the night finally gets under way.

With only a handful of people inside the venue I feel sorry for the lame reception that Rolo Tomassi will receive for their performance tonight. Joe Nicholson walks onto the stage, guitar in hand, and takes a position on the edge of the stage and plays a few notes. From these few opening notes that echo from the speakers, you would expect that Rolo Tomassi are a band that play radio friendly indie music. When the rest of the band filter onto the gigantic stage you still wouldn’t be forced from this mindset. As vocalist Eva Spence wanders from the rear of the stage slowly and gently she addresses the gathering of people in front of her in such a quiet and shy voice that if you couldn’t see her, you’d expect that it was a 5 year old girl on the microphone. Without warning the band erupt into what has been described as punk jazz, hardcore techno and synth driven mathcore. From the shocked expression on everyone’s faces it is clear that this was unexpected and this look sticks as if their faces had turned to stone. The only instances that this look changes, even if it is only slightly, is when they nervously turn to their friends to exchange the looks of utter shock and confusion.

Even if the music they play isn’t to everyone’s liking, it sounds incredibly technical as Edward Dutton looks like he is having some sort of fit hammering out the irregular and unusual beats on the drums that these songs contain. Joe Nicholson’s hands fire up and down the fret board of his guitar with such speed that his fingers become a mere blur. Though the biggest surprise is provided courtesy of Eva Spence as she unleashes her beastly scream which does an amazing job at making the music sound more ferocious and gnarly. Eva sounds possessed as she screams, growls and shrieks into the microphone while throwing herself around the stage, taking advantage of how spacious it is. During the odd occasion that she isn’t attempting to disintegrate the microphone with her monstrous voice, she glides around the stage gracefully like a ballet dancer, before then apparently standing on a wasp as she jumps on the spot going red in the face screaming her lungs out. The song then comes to an abrupt end which causes the crowd to pause momentarily before clapping politely. It seems that no-one truly knows how to react or how to take this band. The applause seems to be out of respect rather than the fact that the audience like what they hear due to the lack of smiles and cheery faces. Eva once again becomes the sweet shy sounding girl that wandered onto the stage a few minutes before as she thanks everyone for coming down early to see them. Then she transforms from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde once more as she launches herself into the next few songs, ‘Abraxas’ being one of these. The songs that Rolo Tomassi play tonight are often short but extremely heavy and fast paced and at some times are very psychedelic. At some times though, it does become rather too technical as the various instruments stop having their own effect and become a blur of noise. It is understandable that nobody seems to be able to pigeon-hole them to a certain genre. At times it sounds very much like they have made up songs from samples of classic Nintendo games like Super Mario. As they rocket their way through their 30 minute set-time it seems that they have managed to convert a few of the original doubters, although personally I’m still not a lover of their music but I can appreciate the skill and talent involved. But whether you love them or hate them, there is a fair chance that you will be hearing a lot more from them this year as they’ve already had slots at both Download and Sonisphere festivals and are sure to be playing more shows soon.

There is a political feel about tonight which is enforced by the presence of the ‘Love Music, Hate Racism’ stall which aims to increase awareness of racism and also offers merch for sale to help fund their organisation. The King Blues are an extremely political band who are definitely not afraid to say how they feel, having joined many marches and protests in London. Thankfully for us, they chose to put these feelings into the form of music because The King Blues do this amazingly. They bounce out onto the stage looking extremely happy to be here and with the accompanying roar of cheers and applause it’s clear that the crowd feel the same. They instantly power their way through ‘Lets hang the Landlord’ getting the whole crowd moving. This song is upbeat and is as infectious as swine flu. Itch sings as he tells his autobiographical story of his teenage years growing up as a punk living in hostels around London. It’s no wonder that this is a band that once played a free gig to people who could only gain entry into the venue if they purchased a copy of The Big Issue from a homeless person. Itch knows how it feels to be in that position and it is heart-warming to see him helping others. They play ‘I Got Love’ with so much happiness on their faces, this band seems so genuine and it’s obvious that they mean every word they sing and every note they play. Their songs have an unearthly ability to make me smile when I hear them and it seems I’m not the only one as i glance around and see smiles on faces everywhere like a room full of children unwrapping their presents on Christmas morning. In between songs, itch speaks to the audience with such passion that you can’t help but take in every word that he utters. He preaches about how everyone has the power to stand up against the government and highlights the escalating levels of racism occurring all around the UK. He says he sees the main issue being the BNP and their attempt to claim power, so Itch does what he does best and makes his point clear for everyone to hear , closing his mini-speech by urging anyone who feels the same to show how unwelcome the BNP are. What follows is a deafening roar of ‘F*** OFF BNP’, point made then and clearly shared by all 5000 people here tonight.

The appeal that the King Blues have is mainly down to the diversity of their music. What they do, and they do extremely well it must be said, is play soulful acoustic ska with a punk rock attitude. These guys are undoubtedly influenced by the likes of The Clash and Minor Threat and this can be noticed in many of their tracks. Next they blast into ‘My Boulder’ which sees all four members of Enter Shikari join them on stage to help with vocals, but it seems all Rob Rolfe (Enter Shikari drummer) wants to do is dance around the stage like a drunk lunatic, which is incredibly funny to watch and builds the ever growing excitement that is brewing for when Enter Shikari hit the stage later tonight. With the members of Enter Shikari taking care of vocals, Itch takes his chance to get up close and personal with his newly devoted fans as he dives onto the barrier almost being dragged into the abyss of the Apollo floor area. After losing his baseball cap before somehow retrieving it from the grasps of the many stray hands he finally climbs back onto the stage, intact, which is a relief to his band mates as they clearly want to finish this show with a whole front man. Itch informs everyone that they are now about to play them a brand new song and that he would like some help with the chorus which goes “when she kissed me it felt like a head butt”, the song unsurprisingly is called ‘Head butt’. After he makes sure that these words are programmed into our heads they begin playing and without fail the chorus is sung like a huge punk rock choir. Itch smiles, enjoying every moment as he has the crowd eating out of his hands. If this is the quality of songs that The King Blues are currently writing for their new record then we are in for a treat come release date. ‘The Streets Are Ours’ is a favourite of mine from their latest album, so I was over the moon when they started playing this as amazingly as they did. The high point being when Itch picks up his Ukulele and the band go into carnival mode. What follows is over a minute of musical delight which reminisces the sounds of Notting Hill Carnival, as steel drums and whistles take me away to a hot summers day on the streets watching the carnival pass by before slamming back to the realisation that it’s a freezing night in the middle of February and I’m indoors. With only minutes left before the King Blues will unfortunately have to leave, they erupt into an extraordinary cover of Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Bonkers’ that they recorded for Radio 1 last year. They took hold of this overplayed track and made it their own. The King Blues perform this song in such a genius way that it makes the hairs on my body stand up. It’s Amazing! Even the few that have never listened to King Blues before sing back every word and it would appear that they’ve earnt a load more fans tonight. Disappointment fills the air as they announce that this will be their last song, but what a song it is. The title track from latest album ‘Save The World, Get The Girl’ contains what is their most political and memorable line “going to war to prevent war is the most stupid thing I ever heard”. As they leave the stage I’m left longing for more. Hopefully they’ll return soon so I can get my next King Blues fix, because I’m already having withdrawal symptoms.

The anticipation is unreal as the 5000 strong audience of this practically sold out show flock from the bar and secure their positions in front of the stage. Some decide to stay out of the danger zone, which is anywhere but the very far back at an Enter Shikari gig. Some however fight their way through human obstacles to get that little bit closer to their heroes. The houselights dim but the sheer amount of glow sticks worn by excited teenagers keep the place reasonably lit with an ominous multicoloured glow. As the intro ‘Common Dreads’ booms from the speakers, people do their best to stay on their feet as the crowd surges, which is not being helped by the fact that the floor slopes down towards the stage. Stage lights which appear to be stolen from the Las Vegas strip illuminate the entire venue as LED lights spell out words such as “unite” as the voices in the intro repeat “we must unite” over and over. Then the moment everyone has been waiting for, some queuing for hours in freezing temperatures, as Rob Rolfe, Chris Batten, Liam Clewlow and Rou Reynolds explode onto the stage smashing straight into the electronic/metal mash ‘Solidarity’. What an entrance! They sound on top form as they create ultimate carnage with their enjoyable mix of heavy metal sound with electronic and post hardcore sounds. The lights accompany the intensity of the band and from the opening minutes there is no doubt that tonight will be a show to be remembered for a very long time. Without a break, they storm straight into ‘Step Up’. No one stands still as the crowd becomes a rough sea with brave audience members, some would call them nutters, surfing over the top trying to get to the barrier. Many don’t make it as far as the front as they fall and disappear into the madness.

Take To The Skies, Enter Shikari’s debut album, was only released in 2007 and they became only the second unsigned band to sell out the London Astoria (RIP) with the first being The Darkness. In this short space of time they have rocketed and they have progressed into a huge band with a loyal following of fans. They then go on to give old fans a double barrel shot from their debut. ‘Return to Energizer’ and ‘Mothership’ are greeted with huge circle pits with bodies flying in all directions. ‘Mothership’ sounds insane as Rob Rolfe shows how extremely important drummers are. He is relentless as he keeps going at full speed, using huge amounts of double bass which sounds spectacular with the accompanying riffs that Liam Clewlow fires out. Then it’s straight back to latest album Common Dreads. ‘Zzzonked’ sends everyone into a frenzy once more as the strobe lights flash so fast and create a crazy atmosphere. This is a great example of what Enter Shikari do best, they’ve taken electronics and thrown them into a blender along with many styles of metal and rock and created some of the most energetic and catchiest songs around. ‘No Sleep Tonight’ proves to be a crowd favourite as people jump, dance, sing and mosh along. The atmosphere is amazing and you’d be wasting your time if you tried to find a more fun, energetic and satisfying show. Out come the acoustic guitars as it seems the band need a breather from their dizzying show, but ‘Gap in the Fence’ is no pushover of a song. The acoustic guitars build up towards a rave-ish dance along as Rou Reynolds commands the audience with so much passion and the smile on his face shows that he is loving it equally as much as every one of us. Accommodating for fans both old and new, they play a healthy mixture of songs from both albums. ‘No Sssweat’ sees bassist Chris Batten leap around the stage as though his guitar is trying to escape his grasp.

Enter Shikari have immense stage presence and this doesn’t show any signs of stopping throughout the entire show. Old fans in particular are given a treat as Rou explains that they haven’t played the next song live for a while and it’s about time that it was resurrected. The song in question is ‘Jonny Sniper’ and I’m so glad they decided to revive this song as it is delivered with such power that it seems they have never stopped playing it. This tour they have embarked on is to coincide with the release of their new B-side and rarity album which features 2 new tracks. One of these new tracks being ‘Thumper’ which is an amazing tune, and god does it sound epic live. Instantly becoming a favourite of mine, they do a top job of showcasing this brand new single. Having seen Enter Shikari at an outdoor venue, I must say that they are much better experience indoors, like tonight. Being indoors this makes their unique style of music sound much heavier and louder, and enables them to use lighting to create visual awe. I’d hate to be responsible for tonight’s electricity bill! It’s become tradition that when during ‘Sorry you’re not a winner’ the clapping parts require everyone to clap along in unison. Even when I listen to this track on my iPod I feel an urge to clap! No one disobeys this tradition tonight, as at the required points every single person claps. Enter Shikari have won many Best Live Band awards, and there is no doubt that they deserve it after the performance they put on tonight. They don’t put one foot wrong as they soar through track ‘The Jester’, Imagine Gallows sprinkled with catchy electronic hooks. This is one of the highlights in my opinion. They finish with ‘Fanfare for the conscious man’ and ‘Ok time for Plan B’. As they exit the stage, the crowd is left begging for more, and I have no shame in admitting that I was one of them.

To everyone’s delight they fulfil the chants of “ENCORE” and burst into classic track ‘Enter Shikari’. Mosh Pits erupt all over the place like Tornadoes sweeping across the floor as they merge together creating larger pits that gather more and more members as it increases in size. Unfortunately, when they say this is to be their very last song of the night, they mean it. To end this amazing night they choose ‘Juggernauts’, to my surprise they neglected to play crowd favourite ‘Labyrinth’ but in its place they were able to play songs that are less played. With this being the last song and last chance to go wild, people see this as a chance to get rid of any unspent energy. Chris Batten even decides to join in the fun at ground level, going over the barrier with his bass still attached, it’s like a scene from Dawn Of The Dead as flailing hands grab him and attempt to pull him further in. As the last few beats blast from the speakers and Enter Shikari leave the stage, I’m left with a huge smile on my face and am left amazed at the sheer epicness of the performance given by these four young guys from St Albans. Enter Shikari came, saw and crushed Hammersmith tonight. And I’m sure that when I say this, there will be another 4999 that agree…..Enter Shikari just gave one of the best performances I have ever seen!

Posted on Friday, 12 February 2010 in News | 4 Comments »
Tagged as Al Gunby, Ambush Reality, Atlantic Records, Chris Batten, Edward Dutton, Enter Shikari, Eva Spence, Hassle Records, Island Records, Itch, James Spence, Jamie Jazz, Jim Parmley, Joe Nicholson, Joseph Thorpe, Liam "Rory" Clewlow, PIAS Recordings, Rob Rolfe, Rob William Rolfe, Rolo Tomassi, Rory Clewlow, Rou Reynolds, Roughton "Rou" Leslie Paul Reynolds, The King Blues